In manufacturing various articles which require an epoxy coating, it is desirable that the coating, once applied, dry quickly so that the epoxy does not drip and the articles can be used or packaged immediately without first standing for long periods in a special drying room.
Epoxy resins which are chain-extended with bisphenol A require drying times of about 6 to 10 hours. Styrenated epoxies, made by esterifying an epoxy resin with the reaction product of styrene and a fatty acid (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,497), do dry rapidly, but are not very compatible with resins such as butylated urea and butylated melamine which are reacted with epoxies to give them a very hard, scratch-resistant surface. The styrenated epoxy resins will tolerate only about 5 to 10% of a butylated urea or melamine resin and therefore the degree of hardness that can be imparted to a styrenated epoxy resin is limited. Also, the salt spray resistance of styrenated epoxies is not as high as is sometimes desired.